Lawyer Maduabuchi Idam accused Niger Governor Bago of prioritizing sermon approval over tackling insecurity.
Activist lawyer, Maduabuchi Idam, has condemned Governor Umar Bago of Niger State for directing religious clerics to submit their sermons for approval before delivery, describing it as an attempt to gag free speech and police religion.
In a statement on Tuesday, Idam said the governor’s priorities were misplaced given the scale of insecurity in the state.
“The Governor of Niger State asking clerics to submit their sermons for approval before they are preached to the congregation is the highest attempt, in recent times, to gag free speech and by extension police religion,” he said.
He argued that residents in bandit-occupied areas of Niger “almost pay rent to bandits just to spare their lives,” while the government appeared incapacitated.
“The governor should pay more attention to intelligence gathering regarding security in the state other than sermons preached in religious homes,” Idam added.